Wang Chung Han
INTRODUCTION
• Huntington’s disease (HD) is an
autosomal dominant neurodegenerative disorder resulting from a CAG
expansion in the huntingtin gene.
• The earliest signs of pathology in HD are in the striatum, a subcortical
structure involved in the control of movement and action selection.
parallel projection
systems
direct pathway
indirect pathway
promotes action
suppresses action
•
In recent years, this loss has been attributed to impaired expression and release
of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) by corticostriatal terminals.
•
The BACHD mouse is a transgenic
•
•
model of HD in which the
full-length human mutant huntingtin (mHtt) gene
has been inserted using a bacterial artificial chromosome
(BAC).
These mice display progressive motor and physiological
deficits that are pronounced by 6 months of age.
This also was true in the Q175 knockin mouse model of HD,
which displays a similar progressive motor and physiological phenotype.
BDNF signal pathway
BACHD mice
normal
impaired
Q175 mice
Nature Reviews Neuroscience 10, 850-860 (December 2009)
BDNF Expression and Delivery to the
Striatum Was Normal in HD Mice
No change in TrkBR expression in
symptomatic (5–6 months old)
BACHD mice
Signaling Downstream of TrkBRs Is
Attenuated in the BACHD Striatum